Best Rockford-area senior basketball players picked for the Rising Stars Classic

Matt Trowbridge, Rockford Register Star
·2 min read
Rockford Christian senior Kevion Cummings (1) shoots around Pecatonica's Korbin Gann (34) in a battle of two state-ranked teams Jan. 9, 2023 at Pecatonica. The two will be teammates April 15 in the Rising Stars Classic, as the area all-stars try to improve to 7-5 against the NIC-10 in the last 12 games.
Rockford Christian senior Kevion Cummings (1) shoots around Pecatonica's Korbin Gann (34) in a battle of two state-ranked teams Jan. 9, 2023 at Pecatonica. The two will be teammates April 15 in the Rising Stars Classic, as the area all-stars try to improve to 7-5 against the NIC-10 in the last 12 games.

Rosters and coaches have been selected for the 25th annual Rising Stars Classic, Rockford’s premier high school basketball all-star showcase.

A four-man media panel selected 10-player teams with two alternates, plus a head coach for each team. Senior stars from the NIC-10 will take on area stars April 15 at Rock Valley College. The girls game will be at 5 p.m. followed by the boys at 7.

Last year, the small schools swept both games. The NIC-10 is 17-7 all-time in the boys game and 13-11 in the girls classic.

Three NIC-10 all-conference players from last year who played little or none this year because of injuries were extended an invitation: Belvidere North’s Ethan Andre and Emma Clark of Hononegah and Sydney Donaldson of Guilford on the girls side.

Here are the teams:

NIC-10 boys Rising Stars

Mekhi Doby (Guilford); Carl Harris, Antonio Lewis and Matthew Hoarde (East); Aedan Campos (Boylan); Adrian Agee and Brennan Horton-Lee (Auburn); Dane Dailing (Harlem); Elijah Richmond (Freeport) and Ethan Andre (Belvidere North).

Harlem’s DeAndre Young and Boylan’s J’Mar Johnson were picked as alternates with Guilford’s Chris Dixon as the coach.

Area boys Rising Stars

Walt Hill, Jr., and Blake Broege (Rockford Lutheran); Ray Maurchie (Winnebago); Kevion Cummings (Rockford Christian); Korbin Gann (Pecatonica); Alex Rahn (Stillman Valley); Jacob Duerr (Scales Mound); Owen Greenfield (Forreston); Joshua Bunting (Genoa-Kingston) and Leorence Kostka (South Beloit).

Lena-Winslow’s Gunar Lobdell and Lutheran’s Kyng Hughes were chosen as alternates with South Beloit’s Matt Stucky as coach.

NIC-10 girls Rising Stars

Maggie Schmidt (Boylan); Breacia Carter and Emma Clark (Hononegah); Grace Vyborny and Nikki Harrison (Harlem); Lindsey Knuth, Avery Green and Sydney Donaldson (Guilford); Raniyah Shirley (Freeport) and TaMya Sago (Jefferson).

Guilford’s Michael Jamerson was picked as the coach and Hononegah’s Kamryn Abney and Guilford’s Tajanea Hanserd as alternates.

Area girls Rising Stars

Ava Kultgen and Ella Grundstrom (Byron); Sydney Carlson (Rockford Lutheran); Harvest Day and Ella Govig (Dixon); Campbell Schrank (Winnebago); Avery Demo (Rockford Christian); Tianna Esser (Lena-Winslow) and Sydney Driscoll (River Ridge/Scales Mound), Evyn Carrier (Sycamore).

Byron’s Eric Yerly was chosen as coach and Stillman Valley’s  Maddy McCammond and Byron’s Brittyn Bielskis are the alternates.

Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Top Rockford senior basketball players chosen for Rising Stars Classic